Real Estate is always booming. The reality is, the richest in the Philippines are all engaged in this industry.

– Ayala, Razon, Villar, Sy

A new name to remember. Erickson Manzano. The Landco Pacific CEO has engraved his name in the record of the country’s real estate industry. Today, he’s telling us the real story of him with challenges and success that made him who he is now with the mission of building the luxury estate of your dreams.

Our Managing Director asked questions with the most captivating answers from Erickson.

What are the most important qualities of a leader?

Integrity – as an individual, a leader should be beyond reproach in both his personal and professional lives. Your team should know, without question, that you always have the best interests of the Company in mind and not your own self-interest. They should know that you will never hang them out dry and that you have their backs because as a leader the buck stops with you. If things go wrong, there’s really no one else you can blame but yourself.

Leadership – your team must believe in you and should be willing to follow you. And you should be able to get everyone to work together so that the results of the team are much better than the sum of its parts. And they will follow you if you lead by example. “Do as I do”, not “do as I say.”

Competence – obviously, for people to follow you they have to see that you know what you’re doing.

The biggest challenge in projects

Money. MRC is just a start-up with many great plans and so far money has been our biggest challenge. We do not lack ideas, competence in execution, and commitment. We just lack the funds for now that we’re still at a stage where we need to ask for funds from our mother company (Landco and MPIC) whenever we expand. But this won’t be a problem for long. By 2027, we’ll have enough cash to do our own expansion without asking for money.

What’s success to you?

Only time can tell whether you’re successful or not. If your project is still relevant 50 years after its launch and is still considered the bar for all other projects that follow, then you are successful. If you’re easily forgotten, that can’t be a success, regardless of the profits.

On a personal level, if you’re proud of the work you do, you don’t have to worry about where the next meal is coming from, you’re loved ones are ok, and you can afford a few leisures in life, then I believe you’re successful.

In 300 words about your day-to-day work

My week is mapped out. Every Monday I meet with all my Project Directors and we discuss all the nuances of the projects they’re overseeing. Every Tuesday I personally Inspect an ongoing project where I meet my Technical Head and his team. Every Wednesday is my Mancom where we discuss money, sales, and anything relevant to the Mancom. Thursdays are when I meet our Hotel Group, our Customer Service, and Property Management teams. And Fridays, that’s when I meet all other groups that have issues that are too complicated to put into an email. So i have regularly blocked-off schedules where I meet all my department heads every week so I’m always up to speed on what’s happening in the Company. And in between those meetings is when I work on emails and stuff. It’s always a full week but I always feel that I have a handle on things.

Leadership strategies

Leadership by example. – I will never ask any of my employees to do something that I’m not personally prepared to do myself. So it’s “Do as I do.”

Harmony – I never tolerate infighting in my team. Infighting is a cancer in any organization. Either get along or both of you are out the door.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”

– Babe Ruth

Hire the best people and get out of their way. – you’ll be surprised how many great ideas your team can come up with if they’re not afraid of being shot down whenever they have a suggestion. So listen to them intently. Understand where they’re coming from. If it’s a good idea, then as a leader it is your job to support that idea.

What’s a legacy for you?

Legacy is how you’ll be remembered long after you’re gone. Do you or your projects inspire those that come after you? If so, then that’s legacy.

Your relaxation activities?

I’m a travel junkie. I’ve been to 66 countries over 7 continents (yup, I’ve been to Antarctica). I get a lot of inspiration from my travels which I try to apply in my work. For example, the inspiration for Crusoe Cabins came from my trip to Tulum, Mexico. The starry night of Cocoons was inspired by a swimming pool in the Maldives. And obviously, I get a lot of relaxation from traveling.

I used to be very much into cars. But I’ve now moved on to motorcycles. For work, I always use my motorcycle when I inspect our projects every Tuesday, rain or shine. For leisure, I’ve motorcycled from Berlin to Milan (that’s farther than Pagugpud to Davao City), and my wife and I recently joined the BOSS Ironman last March 2022 where we motorcycled 1,200+ km/s in 19 hours.

The winning team

I’m proud to say I have a winning team right now, employees who love the Company and go the extra mile for our customers. Employees who do great work regardless of who gets the credit. Employees who understand that if they take care of the Company, the Company will take care of them. We’ve established a pretty good corporate culture of one-for-all.

Your message to your constituents

We are proud of the work we do and we hope that feel that pride every time they stay in one of our cabins/Cocoons or buy a lot/unit from Landco. We want you to be proud of where you stay and live, and bring home many great memories with you. We will continue to strive to give you the most novel and memorable projects, something that you will be proud of. And we hope you feel at home.